Tag Archives: oceanus

Welcome to our land of the extraordinary—a place where architecting better models of existence is our prime directive, where environmental sustainability is our passion, and where positive transformation is mandatory.In this realm of unbridled dreams and endless opportunity, strong and ever-lasting connections are forged and anything is possible.

Join us, July 11-17, in co-creating this floating eco-utopia where United Nations ambassadors exchange titillating ideas on floating tea lounges with Architects of Awe from events like Burning Man; where revolutionaries dance under the moonlight with community organizersto the electric vibrations of a more promising tomorrow; where innovators of bleeding edge technologies collaborate with Silicon Valley impact investors over margaritas made by mind controlled blenders;where exemplary musicianscoordinate their rhythms with breathtaking visual projections mapped by brilliant artists for all to enjoy.

Immersed in this exhilarating, one-of-a-kind experience—you will be transformed.

Through mist and vibrant turquoise waters, a vision appears:What is Oceanus?OCEANUS IS: a collaborative community of Doers, Thinkers, Dreamers, Disruptors, and Visionaries joining forces to enact positive change for the betterment of planetary existence.OCEANUS IS: a new and innovative approach to seasteading and environmental stewardship–an economical and technically viable venture for transforming plastic debris into non-toxic, habitable environments in international waters.OCEANUS IS: the meta–a network of networks, a community for communities, we are the space in between points, the connectors, the intangibles.OCEANUS IS: a platform–of perpetual possibility, a mechanism for countless previously unimagined visions to sprout from, manifesting solutions to the most critical challenges of our time.

We are the movers and the shakers of the world, moving across the waters and shaking archaic systems to the ground. Join us, let’s move and shake together, for united, our brothers and sisters, we are unstoppable.

What is Ephemerisle?EPHEMERISLE IS: an annual week-long gathering (July 11-17) on the Sacramento River Delta in sunny California, brimming with creators, innovators, and change makers there to indulge in their water-based joys in an ecstatic celebration of life–all while collaborating, ideating, and architecting better models for the future!EPHEMERISLE IS: Burning Man meeting Life Aquatic in a completely free, decentralized, and deregulated zone, where ephemeral islands are constructed and enjoyed for the duration of this one of a kind event!EPHEMERISLE IS: an experimental floating celebration of community, learning, art, seasteading, and differing forms of governance.

Be an architect of a more excellent tomorrow–join us in the creation of this better model.
Oceanus Ephemerisle Facebook group:FB Group

As with all of our events, there is no monetary barrier to entry, but there is an application process. We are more interested in who you are and what you can contribute, to both the co-creation of this experience and the continued development of our projects and initiatives (whether that be monetary contribution, physical build efforts, creative expression, music, project management, technology, brain power, etc.). This is not a spectators environment. Participate, for that’s what the future we bring is all about.

Just as it takes the efforts of an entire community to come together to throw the most amazing experience the water has ever seen, so too does architecting new models of a better and brighter tomorrow. Let this be the first of many steps in that direction of the future for us all.

PS: We have mermaids!

See you on the waves and in the future, beautiful people–Newtopia awaits.

In late July of this year, history was made as Oceanus embarked on an epic voyage to Ephemerisle on the 1936 research vessel Robert Gray. Ephemerisle is an annual week-long gathering on the Sacramento River Delta, brimming with highly creative, intelligent, and successful people there to showcase, and indulge in, their water-based joys. In the weeks preceding the event, dozens of crew members lived and worked aboard the Gray and its 170ft counterpart, the Fir, putting incredible amounts of heart and soul into preparing the vessels for this monumental event… and it showed!

The Oceanus Experience at Ephemerisle:

By the end of the week, we had hosted over five hundred guests for our first ever Oceanus Aqua-conference, with glowing reviews and highly useful lessons to take away. Among the offerings provided was “Dolphin Tank”, a social entrepreneurship pitch competition, panel discussions, keynote speakers, art exhibitions, cook-offs, amazing musical artistry, and passionate conversations and ideation in our very own helipad hot tub!

Drone footage of the Oceanus experience at Ephemerisle.

The Gray also provided a valuable resource for testing sustainable living practices, as well as educating our guests on the principles of environmental stewardship and social innovation. And, as our primary vessel filled to capacity, with hammocks swinging from the rafters and soft conversation accompanying the ship’s rocking, we had an opportunity to ferry our guests to the newest addition to our fleet, the 300ft cruise ship, Aurora.

Floating Social innovation Hub

2010: Like siblings, the majestic Aurora and her tender, the Robert Gray, make their way together from the Port of San Francisco to Stockton.

She was the jewel of Germany, heralding an age of pride and presence for a country still striving to mend its international image from the devastation of World War II. The first diesel-electric, Maybach-engined vessel Germany built after the conflict, the Wappen von Hamburg had all the latest in technology and style, launching in 1955 as the most technologically advanced and luxurious cruise ship to exist at the time. Since then, she’s changed hands and names over half a dozen times, traveling the world as the Polar Star, Xanadu, and more, to finally arrive as the Aurora off the coast of California… and right into Oceanus’ open arms.

At this moment, Aurora sits expectantly in Stockton, ready to be used as a conference center, private retreat, and social innovation hub on the Sacramento Delta before her historic re-entry to the Bay. With a 1,600 passenger capacity with sleeping spaces for over two hundred people, conference rooms and office areas, workshops/makerspaces, incubator space, a large pool, a grand ballroom, and much more–the Aurora is our baysteading dream come to reality.

Where do you dock a majestic ship like this though, you ask? She docks at home, of course!

Our Island of Change

Oceanus’ most recent collaboration to date is with Stone Cove Youth Camp, on architecting the future of Stone Cove Island in Suisun Bay (about 30 minutes northeast of Oakland), a five-and-a-half acre base, replete with an entire fleet of boats all its (and now our) own. Riverboats, houseboats, sailboats… all that’s missing is a cruise ship. With ownership extending fifty feet into the water surrounding the island, our concern of where to dock the Aurora, while undergoing our restoration and retrofitting process, is no longer a problem (with the end game of having her docked at the Port of San Francisco, of course).

Stone Cove Island

Stone Cove will serve as our launching point, eventually housing the equipment used to build and assemble our HexaPod prototypes (our unique hexagonal modular floating platforms created from recycled ocean plastic), as well as functioning as an easily accessible base for research and development on all things related to the Oceanus dream of clean oceans, total sustainability, and vibrant community.

Our vision is to be home to a broad spectrum of human beings (and close affiliates). To entice, we plan to offer co-working and co-living spaces, makerspaces for techies and machinists, places to encourage art, creativity, play and growth, and areas to promote humanitarian, environmental, social, and political enhancement. And the over-arching theme? Sustainable, intellectual, and joyful environments, from bottom to top. And from there, we can prototype our 3D printing systems to recycle devastating ocean plastic into enlightened floating communities!

Empowerment and inclusiveness are at the heart of our principles, and in that spirit, we at Oceanus are putting a call out to you: Thinkers, Dreamers, Doers, Creators, and Visionaries of the world. Take part in our Aurora: Design the Dream challenge! What would YOU like to see promoted aboard our collective vessel? Share your vision with us, and join us for our next Aqua-conference on October 24th aboard the Aurora. This event will feature phenomenal minds promoting their dreams, and lead into the pre-Halloween event of the year, all hosted on-site in the Aurora’s glorious ballroom. Submit entries to designthedream@oceanus.blue in the form of documents, videos, audio recording, or whatever captures the spirit of your proposal in its fullest extent!

Some key design topics:

Clean Energy

Sustainable Food Systems

Waste Recycling

Technology Manufacturing

Creative Production

Bay Area Remediation

Community Governance

Maritime Navigation

Restoration and Maintenance

Innovative Events

Safety and Risk Management

Culture Creation

Inducements of Awe

Thinkers, Dreamers, Doers, and Visionaries of the world: the platform for you to shine, and shine together, is here–in an unparalleled and awesome environment of heightened consciousness cultivated to inspire awe and aid in your creative constructs; Oceanus has arrived.

See you on the waves and in the future. Your tribe welcomes you home. Come and be amazing with us.

Queen of the Fleet, the Fir, and her tender, the Robert Gray (both historic research vessels) are coming to the San Francisco Bay on Monday, June 22nd, 2015, where they will serve in a neoteric capacity as collaborative solution centers, social innovation hubs, oceanic research vessels (focused largely on environmental remediation), and so much more. Abundant with co-working spaces, maker labs, and social salons designed by some of the most creative minds in the bay area, these historic landmark vessels present the perfect opportunity to manifest our collective vision of a sustainable existence.

The Majestic Mother Fir

As the Fir is a national historic landmark vessel, it’s only right that we delve into that history a bit. She is the last lighthouse tender created for the now defunct United States Lighthouse Service. Less than a year after her launch in 1939, she was commissioned for the US Coast Guard and sent to the west coast for the majority of her service. The next half a century saw the Fir busy with her duties, which focused primarily on keeping the tens of thousands of navigational aids off the coast in working order. In addition to this, the Fir has saved lives and salvaged the wrecks of other vessels, helicopters, and even an airplane. Only a year before her decommissioning, the Fir extinguished a rapidly burning boat and saved the life of it’s trapped captain.

The Robert Gray

The Robert Gray, was fabricated in 1936 by the United States Corps of Engineers to serve as a research and surveying vessel on the open seas. Did we mention there’s a helipad (because there is)?

Both the Fir and the Robert Gray are perfect for conducting environmental research and development. Massive, at 174’ and 120’ respectively, there is more than enough space to provide for a novel, rich ecosystem. Imagine skipping your morning commute in favor of a stroll to the galley, where innovators break bread and share visions. Afterwards, you might head to work, which, on these vessels, is anywhere you feel inspired. With all that space, your options are broad, and all of them include waterfront property and conscientiously curated neighbors. It’s the ideal habitat for an incubator of ideas, technology, and culture–a dedicated, 24/7, nurturing space to harness collective vision and collaborative process.

At this moment, we are looking for a few things before these research vessels open up to the community here in the bay. We are now focused on berthing the vessels; we have several promising options available, but as always, welcome any input, suggestions, or contacts that any of you may have. We aim to work with top educational, humanitarian, and environmental organizations and thus will be able to be a steward to the bay and her communities. We have amalgamated forces with DRÆM VENTURES, BHuman Social Innovation Center, and other NGO’s, as well as local governments to curate this new research undertaking. This is no small feat but OCEANUS is of the opinion that if you’re not doing something big, you’re doing it wrong.

Our efforts here at OCEANUS have always been collaborative in both form and function. We believe strongly that a united and diverse population produces the best results, and that means drawing from a wide range of talents and backgrounds. It is of the highest importance that the barriers to participation in Oceanus be minimal, and we encourage you to test them. Are you interested in building a positive, dynamic environment with others like you? Perfect, let us know! Efforts, ideas, community support–all things we need from you amazing people here in the bay area, and even moreso, all who believe in the entirety of our initiative across the world.

Applications for both general occupancy will be opening next week; we are currently accepting applications for crew, though. Hit us up at contact@oceanus.blue for inquiries, interests, or just to say hello! This is your chance to shape the foundation of a better and brighter future with us; your vision, your style, your touch molding the bricks of this future and the currents of its culture.

We are incredibly proud and excited to be embarking on this venture. The Fir and Robert Gray are themselves special vessels, steeped proudly in a tradition of service and pluck; the community nurtured on them will be just as distinguished.

Keep an eye out for more baysteading news from us in the near future: berth location, occupant application opportunities, and more are on the way!

San Francisco is a special place. The city has a healthy share of thinkers and futurists, visionaries and entrepreneurs, whose numbers are bolstered by the proximity of Silicon Valley. It’s a vibrant place, brought alive by the creativity of the people moving throughout it. It’s easy to see, why San Francisco was the natural choice for the inaugural Novus Conference.

Themed “Reimagine the American Dream,” Novus drew a crowd of pioneers to The Battery for a day of talks and personal connections. A diverse range of speakers addressed attendees in The Parlor and Musto Bar, ensuring that no matter the individual’s personal interest, there was something to inspire and awe. Oceanus’ own Ari Eisenstat served as a Novus delegate, one of an incredible team headed by Kunal Sood, whom extended an invitation to others in Oceanus’ organization. The amazing group of speakers contained entrepreneurs, activists, artists, futurists, engineers, social wizards, and those whose talents include these and more.

In the Parlor Room, against a beautiful painting by speaker Raghava KK, we heard from Tim Draper on what the future holds, Sonia Arrison and Dr. Joon Yun on life extension, Susan Alzner and Martha Adams on the empowerment of women and girls, and many more, capped off by Steve Jurvetson’s exciting anticipation of a post-scarcity world. Visitors to the Musto Bar practiced breathing with Rabia Hayek, learned about the importance of the large-scale from Ken Feldman, and ended the room’s series with a well-received fireside chat with Sean Ironstag and Ari Eisenstat discussing Oceanus and our very own dream.

With the talks still fresh on everyone’s minds, the Penthouse opened for the Awards Show. Participants were honored for their contributions to humanity; these awards made it clear once again what an incredible, beautiful group of people had been gathered there. These were people who make it their missions to enhance, prolong, better, save, and benefit the lives of others in the world around us.. For this reason, we were honored and overjoyed to interact more after the show. Invaluable connections were made, ideas shared, and dreams expanded as we realized the manifest destiny of humanity.

Novus was an important refresher in the power of innovation and collaboration. Perhaps most exciting of all, we heard about ideas and ideals which not only lay in line with Oceanus’, but expounded upon them. The Novus crowd sets the bar high, and challenges all to leap it–and that’s just what we plan to do.

An evening of stirring, inspirational talks with successful visionaries out to change the world? Count us in! Novus invites the public to reimagine the American dream, and presents an impressive host of speakers and presenters to act as lanterns. Oceanus was immediately enthused at the opportunity to hear from fellow pioneers, and then further thrilled to be invited to speak at the conference. Our mindset going in: reimagine the worldwide dream.

Join us Friday, May 22, at The Battery in San Francisco, for a fireside chat with Sean Ironstag (founder of Oceanus) and Ari Eisenstat (Novus delegate, founder of Draem Ventures, and Oceanus board member), as we discuss what it means to us to truly be progressive and create a better, higher model of society. We look forward to an open and engaging atmosphere, and the opportunity to connect with similarly ambitious people. See you there!

Think about this: every sixty seconds a child dies of a water-related disease.

Are you enjoying access to clean water? Enjoying not being critically dehydrated? Having access to sanitary needs? Not dying from cholera? So too would the many children of the world outside of your frame of reference who do not currently enjoy these luxuries.

The human right to clean water and proper sanitation is something that has been ignored too long, and a lack of action in regards to these basic needs for human survival will not be tolerated any longer!

Oceanus has cast its support to pass this mandate for inclusion in the Sustainable Development Goals that will help to shape the next 15 years of this planet’s development.

Between now and when you first began reading this, there is one less precious young life on this planet due to lack of water and sanitation. Contact the United Nations today to demand this mandate’s inclusion in the Declaration of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. There is NO EXCUSABLE reason for not acting right this moment before another child perishes from lack of action.